FW: [AMP-L] Miles O'Brien : Life After Arm Amputation
Paul E Prusakowski
Description
Collection
Title:
FW: [AMP-L] Miles O'Brien : Life After Arm Amputation
Creator:
Paul E Prusakowski
Date:
6/14/2014
Text:
(This was shared with me this morning and is a very well written article)
via New York magazine:
An accident in February cost the TV reporter Miles O'Brien his left
arm. He soon discovered that every movement, no matter how small,
requires rethinking. ------------ Denial is powerful. It can be a
crucial coping tool when experiencing loss or trauma, but it also can
unmoor you from reality. From the time I lost most of my left arm in
February, I was living in that parallel universe, one where I'd power
through, barely acknowledging the amputation-until I went for a run
on the sunny afternoon of April 6.
It was nothing more than a slightly uneven sidewalk that took me
down. No problem for a runner with two arms. In fact, this particular
sidewalk is right behind my home, and I had negotiated it
uneventfully for years. But here are two things you need to know
about life after an arm amputation:
First, your center of gravity changes dramatically when you are
suddenly eight pounds lighter on one side of your body.
Second, while my arm may be missing physically, it is there, just as
it always has been, in my mind's eye. I can feel every digit. I can
even feel the watch that was always strapped to my left wrist. When I
tripped, I reached reflexively to break my very real fall with my
completely imaginary left hand. My fall was instead broken by my
nose, and my nose was broken by my fall.
The rest of this well written story, with photos, here:
< <URL Redacted>>
via New York magazine:
An accident in February cost the TV reporter Miles O'Brien his left
arm. He soon discovered that every movement, no matter how small,
requires rethinking. ------------ Denial is powerful. It can be a
crucial coping tool when experiencing loss or trauma, but it also can
unmoor you from reality. From the time I lost most of my left arm in
February, I was living in that parallel universe, one where I'd power
through, barely acknowledging the amputation-until I went for a run
on the sunny afternoon of April 6.
It was nothing more than a slightly uneven sidewalk that took me
down. No problem for a runner with two arms. In fact, this particular
sidewalk is right behind my home, and I had negotiated it
uneventfully for years. But here are two things you need to know
about life after an arm amputation:
First, your center of gravity changes dramatically when you are
suddenly eight pounds lighter on one side of your body.
Second, while my arm may be missing physically, it is there, just as
it always has been, in my mind's eye. I can feel every digit. I can
even feel the watch that was always strapped to my left wrist. When I
tripped, I reached reflexively to break my very real fall with my
completely imaginary left hand. My fall was instead broken by my
nose, and my nose was broken by my fall.
The rest of this well written story, with photos, here:
< <URL Redacted>>
Citation
Paul E Prusakowski, “FW: [AMP-L] Miles O'Brien : Life After Arm Amputation,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/236385.
